Hospital optimizes scheduling for enhanced patient access and utilization

Client Background

A large, physician-owned multi-specialty medical practice that offers comprehensive healthcare services, serving a diverse patient population with a wide range of medical specialties.  

The business challenge

This healthcare organization faced significant challenges in aligning provider schedules with patient demand, which had a direct impact on patient satisfaction and appointment utilization rates. The difficulties in synchronizing provider availability with patient needs led to inefficiencies such as extended wait times and complex scheduling processes, negatively affecting patient experiences. High rates of no-shows and late cancellations further compounded the issue, disrupting clinic schedules and reducing both appointment utilization and revenue. Additionally, the organization struggled to match patients with providers who possessed the necessary expertise, complicating access to care and delaying treatment for many patients. These challenges ultimately drove the organization to seek Baker Tilly’s expertise in optimizing their scheduling practices and improving patient access to care. 

Strategy and solution

To address scheduling challenges, Baker Tilly conducted a comprehensive assessment focused on optimizing the scheduling process, minimizing appointment disruptions and streamlining workflows while maintaining high standards of patient care. The assessment objectives included: 

• Conduct an in-depth analysis to understand current scheduling capacity 
• Identify obstacles hindering efficient scheduling through examination of existing workflows 
• Determine the actual duration of appointments to better allocate resources 
• Visit the clinic to engage with managers and providers to gather insights on scheduling challenges 
• Analyze patterns of late cancellations and no-shows to develop strategies to enhance efficiency  

Based on the findings, Baker Tilly recommended implementing standardized scheduling processes across multiple specialties, reducing and optimizing time blocks, strategically adding extra openings in schedules with high no-show rates and refining cadence scheduling protocols to improve patient access. Additionally, the use of advanced tools such as Decision Trees, Open Scheduling and MyChart functionalities was suggested to further enhance scheduling efficiency. These recommendations aimed to increase the quality of care and drive financial success for the healthcare organization. 

The implementation of these strategies enabled the organization to accommodate an additional patient each day, resulting in a measurable financial benefit. This increase in patient volume demonstrated the positive impact of streamlined appointment management on the organization’s overall profitability and operational efficiency.